FB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[rscl70]

It is sad that we have to come on here and appologize for a few jerks.  It seems that every time you get rid of one another shows up.

Nothing but respect for the Warhawks from this Mount fan.  Congratulations on another great season.

[ExTartanPlayer]

In looking at the play selection, I don't know if the staff abandoned the run early or if they felt they didn't want to risk being in too many 3rd and long situations.  I know it seems like it because UWW had many first down plays in the first quarter.  A quick review of the stats shows 8 runs and 2 passes on 1st down plays.  The 2nd quarter was 2 runs/4 passes, the third quarter was 3 runs/2 passes and the 4th was 2 runs/1 pass.   

Thanks for digging out these numbers, emma.  Helps bring some clarity to the issue.

IMO, the crucial juncture was the second quarter.  I remember watching and thinking that it (at the time) that it felt like UWW went away from the run, but a careful re-examination of the stats showed that it wasn't as lopsided as I thought...

a) Right after Scott's first touchdown pass, UWW threw on first down and was INT'd.  A few plays later it was 15-6.

b) The next drive, UWW did come out and run on first and second down.  A crucial false-start penalty put them in 2nd-and-14, but even after that they still tried to run on second down, so I really can't say they "abandoned" the run there.  For some reason this didn't really register in my memory.

c) On both of the next two second-quarter drives, UWW came out throwing, but it actually worked - they did get a first down on both drives.  Just couldn't get any points.  I think the holding penalty at the very end of the half cost them a chance for another FG, but that wasn't going to be enough to keep it exciting to the end, not the way the Mount offense got rolling in the second half.

It's all too easy to armchair-QB this stuff, and if one of those second-quarter drives had made it all the way to the end zone, no doubt we're talking about how the UWW staff wisely changed it up and found something that worked at that time.  Hindsight is always 20-20.  Basically, I'm figuring that I might have started the next drive after the first Mount touchdown with a run instead of a pass - but then again, I'm a lineman, so I always want to run the ball more...

[joelmama]

Congratulations to UWW for a fine season.  I met a few fans before during and after the game and you represent well.  Your team is fantastic and Mount played their best game....maybe not ever but in a very long time to beat them.  I really liked how UWW fought to the end and did not resort to any BS on or off the field.

Class group, and one to be proud of.

[warhawkguard]

I thought the game clearly hinged on that first INT. After that, it was pretty much all MU after that. Every time we got something going we shot ourselves with a critical penalty or failure to convert. How many times did we get a good play just to fall short of first down and have to punt? Mount's QB was able to scramble and keep their drives going just when we thought we had them stopped.

That frustration adds up. Mount never committed any costly penalties. They played perfectly. They were well prepared as they applied pressure at the perfect times and forced errors. Every time we needed to make something happen they were ready for it. Great job by them.

We had a great time for the weekend overall. I told the Mount people See ya next year. I see all the underclassmen on the roster and know they will use this loss as motivation to improve. Mount is stacked with seniors. I don't see The Tommies stopping them next week, but I haven't seen them in person either.

Is everyone that was there talking about the dickheads in front taunting everyone and the team? Saw some examples of poor sports from their students / grads, but the adults were all great. Did you see the shirts on the students that read: Breathe if you HATE Whitewater? LOL. I could not see that kind of stuff at Whitewater but shirts are easy to make these days and a small amount of students could easily do something like that. I just don't see a hatred of MU on our side.

I guess the biggest thing that stood out to me was the call to go for it on 4th and 2 on our 20 with 10 minutes left. I know things were not going well, and we were desperate to get a spark, get SOMETHING good to happen. I get it. The fact that they ran it straight into several defenders seemingly waiting in our backfield signaled game over to me. They knew what we were going to do all day, and especially there. After that we seemed to have thrown in the towel. Lost all the wind in our sails. The team seemed lost, looking for answers after that. Lots of looking at the sidelines and confusion. The kids were backpedaling instead of attacking. Hands on hips are the obvious sign the fight was over.

[bleedpurple]

I thought the game clearly hinged on that first INT. After that, it was pretty much all MU after that. Every time we got something going we shot ourselves with a critical penalty or failure to convert. How many times did we get a good play just to fall short of first down and have to punt? Mount's QB was able to scramble and keep their drives going just when we thought we had them stopped.

That frustration adds up. Mount never committed any costly penalties. They played perfectly. They were well prepared as they applied pressure at the perfect times and forced errors. Every time we needed to make something happen they were ready for it. Great job by them.

We had a great time for the weekend overall. I told the Mount people See ya next year. I see all the underclassmen on the roster and know they will use this loss as motivation to improve. Mount is stacked with seniors. I don't see The Tommies stopping them next week, but I haven't seen them in person either.

Is everyone that was there talking about the dickheads in front taunting everyone and the team? Saw some examples of poor sports from their students / grads, but the adults were all great. Did you see the shirts on the students that read: Breathe if you HATE Whitewater? LOL. I could not see that kind of stuff at Whitewater but shirts are easy to make these days and a small amount of students could easily do something like that. I just don't see a hatred of MU on our side.

I guess the biggest thing that stood out to me was the call to go for it on 4th and 2 on our 20 with 10 minutes left. I know things were not going well, and we were desperate to get a spark, get SOMETHING good to happen. I get it. The fact that they ran it straight into several defenders seemingly waiting in our backfield signaled game over to me. They knew what we were going to do all day, and especially there. After that we seemed to have thrown in the towel. Lost all the wind in our sails. The team seemed lost, looking for answers after that. Lots of looking at the sidelines and confusion. The kids were backpedaling instead of attacking. Hands on hips are the obvious sign the fight was over.

I remember the defensive series after we didn't get the first down you refer to.  There were genuine communication issues with getting the defensive calls to the players at that point. I wouldn't read that as them having "throw in the towel". The guys played hard to the end. The coaches were coaching hard to the end. I remember with just over a minute left in the game, the defense got a stop and the audible reaction on the sideline was as if it were a key stop in the outcome of the game. The guys were keeping each other up on the sideline saying "no matter what happens to us, we don't quit".  Was there a realization at some point that we weren't going to win? Of course! It didn't really occur until we were down 30. But our guys didn't pout or feel sorry for themselves. They wanted to represent until the end. I believe they did that.

I learned a bunch from the Warhawks on Saturday. Some of the seniors went up and down the bench keeping guys up when we went down 30. They were saying "C'mon let's have fun! We get to play FOOTBALL for six more minutes. We get to play FOOTBALL. Let's go have fun"  Sure, Whitewater guys love to win. Who doesn't?  But more than that, like D-III guys everywhere, they love to play football!

*WG- I'm not saying you are accusing the guys of quitting. I know you are probably just talking about that "realization" that we weren't going to win. I just didn't want anyone reading your post and getting the impression our guys quit. Somehow, some way, they actually embraced it and had fun playing football til the end.

[warhawkguard]

Exactly. I'm not saying they quit at all. It just seemed that the realization was starting to hit. Body language. Frustrations. These were good lessons for the future. They will be stronger for it.

Speaking of confusion, what happened prior to halftime? Trying to get something and then bang. Penalties. The delay of game unbelievable. Completely derailed the great drive they were working on.

Very uncharacteristic miscues from a very composed team and staff.

[emma17]

Such an odd game for Hudson. No catches and the deep ball at the start of the third quarter looked like he could have made a play for.
Mt played Hudson tight to start the game, but backed off w 5-7 yard cushions at times. Not sure why UWW didn't throw slants and short stuff to him. Worth had nice cushion quite a bit as well, along w size advantage. Mt switched a different DB in after Worth caught 2 consecutive passes.

There were chain moving opportunities left on the table for sure.

[ChicagoTommie]

Nice season for UWW! I watched the Game and was routing for UWW! Wanted to meet them in the Stagg Bowl with my Tommies. Just wanted to send a post on this board since I really get of the reservation on the MIAC board, listening to the Johnnies fans whine about UST. I think UWW is a young team right now and they will be a lot better next season. Good Luck Next Year!!!

[emma17]

Nice season for UWW! I watched the Game and was routing for UWW! Wanted to meet them in the Stagg Bowl with my Tommies. Just wanted to send a post on this board since I really get of the reservation on the MIAC board, listening to the Johnnies fans whine about UST. I think UWW is a young team right now and they will be a lot better next season. Good Luck Next Year!!!

Thanks Tommie.
The best to St. Thomas as well.  I enjoyed having their game on while driving home.  I hope Roberts stays healthy enough to play the entire game as he is really special.

[emma17]

The run/pass balance discussion.
I've read and heard people talking about UWW sort of getting away from the run Saturday.  I know UWW has the Pound the Rock reputation, but I think that slogan has the effect of painting a somewhat distorted view of the offense.
In 2013 Stagg:
1st series: 3 runs/4 passes- TD.  1 pass/3 runs on first downs.
2nd series: 2 runs/2 passes- Punt.  1 pass/1 run on first downs.
3rd series:  2 runs/0 passes-Fumble. 
4th series:  4 runs/5 passes- TD.  2 passes/1 run on first downs.
5th series:  1 run/9 passes- TD.  4 passes/1 run on first downs.  Behrendt tucked and ran a couple passes. 

2014 Stagg:
1st series: 7 runs/5 passes- TD.  2 passes/3 runs on first downs.
2nd series:  6 runs/4 passes-TD.  1 pass/3 runs on first downs.
3rd series: 4 runs/6 passes- Missed FG.  4 passes/0 runs on first downs.
4th series:  4 runs/3 passes- Punt.  0 passes/3 runs on first downs.
5th series:  3 runs/2 passes-Punt.  1 pass/1 run on first downs.

Some differences between 2015 offense vs Mt and 2013 and 2014. 
1.  Lack of motion/shifting. 
2.  Lack of quick passing game to move the chains and avoid sacks.
3.  QB not a threat to run.

[KitchenSink]

Such an odd game for Hudson. No catches and the deep ball at the start of the third quarter looked like he could have made a play for.
Mt played Hudson tight to start the game, but backed off w 5-7 yard cushions at times. Not sure why UWW didn't throw slants and short stuff to him. Worth had nice cushion quite a bit as well, along w size advantage. Mt switched a different DB in after Worth caught 2 consecutive passes.

There were chain moving opportunities left on the table for sure.

Looked to me like Hudson was not 100%.  He is usually more fluid in his routes than what we saw on Saturday.  I think when he went down with a tweak on his ankle late in the Oshkosh game, it was more significant than anyone knew.  Well, anyone outside of the coaches.

[emma17]

Such an odd game for Hudson. No catches and the deep ball at the start of the third quarter looked like he could have made a play for.
Mt played Hudson tight to start the game, but backed off w 5-7 yard cushions at times. Not sure why UWW didn't throw slants and short stuff to him. Worth had nice cushion quite a bit as well, along w size advantage. Mt switched a different DB in after Worth caught 2 consecutive passes.

There were chain moving opportunities left on the table for sure.

Looked to me like Hudson was not 100%.  He is usually more fluid in his routes than what we saw on Saturday.  I think when he went down with a tweak on his ankle late in the Oshkosh game, it was more significant than anyone knew.  Well, anyone outside of the coaches.

I've heard that too.  Perhaps it would have been wise to use another receiver.  0 catches and an inability to make a play on the ball.  Not sure what that accomplishes. 

[Desertraider]

Not to nit-pick but Tre Jones (matched up on Hudson) was also not 100%. He went down against Wesley in 1st half and did not return to sidelines for 2nd half. One question that I forgot to ask - where did you guys find that kicker? Holy crap he has a huge leg. Everybody laughed when he came in for a 64 yard attempt - until he kicked it. Wow.

[Gregory Sager]

They were all over NAIA. Never hear about them now.

Yeah, it's one of those where you wonder about buyers remorse.

Findlay won the D2 men's basketball national championship in 2008-09, going an undefeated 36-0 in the process. I strongly doubt that anybody associated with Findlay regretted the move from NAIA to D2 when that happened.

There's more to college sports than just football, guys.

In Ohio   

Yeah, 'cause football's such a low priority in the Buckeye State.

[emma17]

Not to nit-pick but Tre Jones (matched up on Hudson) was also not 100%. He went down against Wesley in 1st half and did not return to sidelines for 2nd half. One question that I forgot to ask - where did you guys find that kicker? Holy crap he has a huge leg. Everybody laughed when he came in for a 64 yard attempt - until he kicked it. Wow.

You're not nit-picking at all.  Playing through pain, Tre made the plays on the deep balls thrown to Marcus.
But that just further begs the question, why didn't UWW bring in another receiver and run some hard routes on Tre?  The go route is probably the easiest for Tre to cover if he's hurting. 

Super Toe is also the punter (and had an excellent game) in addition to being a stud pitcher.